Bobcat Blog

• February 20: No School in Observance of Presidents' Day
• February 22: In school performances from Urban Gateways, "Amazing Africa"
• February 22: Beye Night Out at Lou Malnati's (see details below)
• Saturday, February 25: PTO Black History Month Event at Beye (10 am - 12:30 pm) See Details Below!
• March 2: Parent and Author Katie McElligott is coming to visit our K-2nd grade students
• March 8: Second Trimester Ends
• March 9 - 23 District IAR and ISA assessment window for 3rd - 5th grade students
• March 27 - 31

***Please label all student water bottles, lunch boxes, sweatshirts, coats, etc. We want to reduce the amount of things we have in lost and found this year. Thank you.

When:Wed, Feb 22 11:00am-11:00pm

Where:Lou Malnati's Oak Park 1038 Lake Street

Raise a slice for a good cause! Lou Malnati's will donate 20% of total sales on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023 to the Beye Elementary PTO.

Make sure to mention the flyer (attached) or fundraiser while placing your phone orders. Also valid on online and app ordering-- use code FUNDBEYE23 when ordering.

20% based on pre-tax purchase, excluding alcohol. Offer good on every order received from Dine-In, Carryout or Delivery.

We are so excited to have the PTO sponsor the second annual talent show! Students need permission slips completed by families in order to audition.

If your child wants to try out to be an Emcee (due Feb. 21)

Behind the Scenes Crew (due Feb. 28)

Talent Show Submission Form (Due Feb. 28)

Student Compilation Submission Form

During our monthly Waste Fact Wednesday, students are invited to come learn about ways we can reduce waste in the lunchroom and beyond, they can enter their name in a raffle to win a reusable snack bag, shopping bag or reusable water bottle. Congrats to this month's winners: Avira and Joe (Kindergarten), Ellie and Madison (1st Grade), Camden and Zoe (2nd Grade), Joshua and Lawrence (3rd Grade), McKenna and Autumn (4th Grade) and Amira and Alvie (5th Grade).

At this month's Waste Fact Wednesday, our daily compost collection weighed in at 20 lbs. That means over the course of an average month we divert approximately 400 lbs of food waste from the landfill that will be turned into compost. Way to go, Beye!

Is your child interested in sustainability and environmental action in their school, home and community? Are they looking for an opportunity to connect with other like-minded students across grade levels? They may want to join the new Beye Student Green Team! We will gather twice per month during lunch/recess to share their ideas and explore earth friendly actions to pursue in school and beyond. Permission slips should be going home this week and should be turned in by March 1st.

Student Green Team Permission Slip

Here is the link to where the classes are posted and where you can register: WINTER CLASSES | SLOWFIRE ART STUDIO (slowfireceramics.com)

Monday THEME: DRAGONS & JELLYFISH This class is all about animals! We will explore all matters of life living in the ocean, from fish to mermaids and on land, from cats to dragons. This class focuses on foundational skills in painting, drawing, printmaking, and ceramics. This class incorporates field trips when possible, in our magical van, Vincent Van-Go.

Mondays 3-6pm 3/6, 3/13, 3/20, 4/3, 4/10, 4/17, 4/24, 5/1, 5/8, 5/15, 5/22, 6/5 (12 sessions) Payment broken into a $200 deposit and then remainder $214 by 4/15. Ages K-5 5 students minimum/12 students maximum

Wednesday THEME LEGO! Students will do a creative build every day with lego and then complete art projects inspired by Lego! This class focuses on foundational skills in painting and drawing as well as functional ceramics, polymer sculpture and printmaking.

Wednesdays 2:30-6pm 3/8, 3/15, 3/22, 4/5, 4/12, 4/19, 4/26, 5/3, 5/10, 5/17, 5/24, 5/31, 6/7 (13 sessions) Payment broken into a $237.25 deposit and then remainder $237.25 by 4/15. Ages K-5 5 students minimum/12 students maximum

All About IAR!

Each Spring, all District 97 students in Grades 3 to 8 take federally-required assessments to help us understand how they are growing academically. Since 2019, the state has utilized the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) to assess students’ knowledge and skills in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics, as well as their progress toward the long-term goal of college and career readiness.

This year, the IAR will be administered to 3rd through 5th grade Beye students March 9 and March 21. Check out our “5 Things to Know About IAR” document to learn more about this year’s assessment!

CELL PHONE/MOBILE DEVICES: OFF and AWAY DURING THE DAY

Reminder: Cell phones/Mobile Devices are not to be used during school hours. This includes calling parents/guardians due to illness, requesting items to be dropped off, etc.

• Students can ask a teacher to use the classroom phone or the phone in the main office if needed.

• Parents can call the main office to relay any urgent messages.

Cell phones are to be turned off upon entering the school building and not used until the dismissal bell rings. Our School Board Policy 7:190 - Student Behavior, Prohibited Student Conduct, #5, addresses cell phones during the school day. Also, Board Policy AP5 - Administrative Procedures

February 22nd 2023, The District office will be having another evening background check event for parents. They can sign up through sign up genius by using the link below. Thanks.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c48aaa628aaf8c43-background#/

In District 97, we understand and appreciate that it will take all of us—families, staff, community members—working together to have a safe and healthy winter. As we continue through the winter months, we want to remind you of a few preventative measures our school community can take to reduce the spread of illness in our schools:

• Wash hands often, especially before eating and after using the bathroom.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. These are the most common ways for germs to enter the body.
• Cover your mouth and nose with your arm when you cough or sneeze.
• Get plenty of sleep!
• Eat whole, unprocessed foods and include fruits and vegetables at each meal.
• Stay up to date on your vaccinations

Should students get sick, they should not come to school. Please do not send your child to school with any of the following symptoms:

• Constant coughing
• Constant “runny” nose, especially with yellow or green mucus
• A temperature of 100 or higher
• Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea
• Rashes or any scratching for unknown reasons, with or without fever
• Watery, itching eyes that have drainage or are crusted shut upon waking

If your child tests positive for COVID-19, please report the illness by completing District 97’s Positive Case Notification form. Thank you for sharing this responsibility with us to Be Safe and Healthy by looking out for the collective care of the community this winter!

Thank you for coming together this week at Family-Teacher Conferences to support our students! District 97's Be a Learning Designer Team is continuing to collect family-teacher conference data to better understand the family and student experience.

Family and teacher feedback from the fall survey informed changes that called for virtual access to conferences, access to assessment data prior to conferences, and information on academic standards, which was included in our new online resource: Getting Ready for Family-Teacher Conferences.

Please share your feedback with us via this survey https://forms.gle/NVcyyLn9tJoTZc186. We look forward to hearing from you, and thank you again taking the time to support this critical partnership!

Beye had the highest percentage (by A LOT at 45.6%) of families who completed the survey last year. Let's go for a repeat!

Please take 10 minutes to give us valuable feedback. Thanks!

Below as seen in the D97 Wrap Up:

Parents/guardians all 10 of our schools are encouraged to take the Illinois 5Essentials Survey between January 24 through March 31, 2023: http://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/.

Thank you for participating in this important endeavor and for your continued support of our schools and the children we serve.

ABOUT 5ESSENTIALS

District 97 is administering the Illinois 5Essentials Survey again this year to certified staff and parents/guardians from all 10 of our schools, as well as students in grades four through eight.

The online survey was developed by the University of Chicago’s Consortium on Chicago School Research and is derived from the Five Essentials for School Success, which is an evidence-based framework that identifies five factors that can lead to important student outcomes such as improved attendance and significant gains in test scores. These five factors/essentials are:

• Effective Leaders
• Collaborative Teachers
• Involved Families
• Supportive Environment
• Ambitious Instruction

The parent survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. You may skip questions you do not wish to answer, but the survey must be completed in one sitting and cannot be retrieved once it is submitted. If you have more than one child enrolled in a building (i.e., two students who attend the same school), you have the option of completing multiple surveys for that building. In addition, if you have children enrolled in multiple schools (i.e., a District 97 elementary school and middle school), you may participate in the survey for each school. However, only one parent/guardian per household may fill out the survey.

As with the student and teacher surveys, your identity will be kept completely confidential and your responses will not be linked to you. In addition, school-level reports will only be generated if at least 20 percent of our parents/guardians complete the survey, which can be accessed until March 31, 2023, by visiting http://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/. This percentage will be based on the total number of students enrolled at each school.

If we successfully meet this requirement, we will receive our reports in Spring/Summer 2023. The results will also be made available to the public via the State School Report Cards, which will be released in the fall.

You can access general information about the Illinois 5Essentials Survey by visiting https://www.uchicagoimpact.org/our-offerings/5essentials.

As a reminder, all employee and volunteers must complete a background check before being issued work or volunteer opportunities with the District. Here is the sign-up genius to schedule a background check.

In honor of Black History Month, our school and district will be celebrating the remarkable lives, histories and contributions of the Black community. We'd love to hear how you and your family are celebrating, too! You can share your Black History Month stories, photos and videos by tweeting (@OakPark97, using the hashtags #MyD97 and #OakPark97) or emailing d97feedback@op97.org.

Thank you Beye Green Team for extending this throughout the year. Old sneakers can be brought to school and then dropped off in the office vestibule. Check out the photo of the latest batch of shoes going to be recycled instead of going into the landfill.

Recycle your old sneakers and earn money for Beye School!

Bring any and all sneakers, in any condition, to the school for donation through the end of the school year. Athletic shoes only please.

The Beye Green Team has partnered with gotsneakers.com to keep sneakers out of landfills and earn money for Beye!

The acceleration window is quickly approaching. The informational flyer for the Feb. 8 family session on acceleration is below. Similar to last year, the referral windows for those seeking single subject or whole grade acceleration opens on March 1 and closes on May 15.

Families can access information about the process here as well.
Click here to view the Acceleration Family Information Session flyer >>

We want to show our Beye Spirit by encouraging students and staff to wear Beye Wear or blue and white colors each Friday or the last day of the week.

If you are wanting to purchase some Beye clothing, please visit the Beye Website (Go to www.op97.org and then click on Beye) and then go to the PTO tab and then scroll down to the bottom to find the Beyewear. If you haven't joined Konstella, a way for families to connect with one another, consider signing up. Thanks! I can't wait to see all of the blue and white next Friday.

The breakfast and lunch menus for our elementary and middle schools are available at http://www.op97.org/business-office/food-service. During the 2022-23 school year, students may:

• Bring a nut-free lunch from home.

• Order school lunch.

PLEASE NOTE: During the 2022-23 school year, all students will be required to pay for their breakfast and lunch meals unless they are directly approved by the State of Illinois or approved after completing the 2022-23 Free and Reduced Meal Application.

Process for Reporting Positive COVID-19 Cases to D97 Schools
If a student or staff member tests positive for COVID-19, they must complete the following steps:

1) In order to notify the school nurse and receive a return-to-school date, families/staff must complete the confidential COVID-19 Positive Case Notification Form as soon as possible following the positive test. Information provided will also be shared with the Oak Park Department of Public Health.

2) Families must continue to report student absences via the school attendance line, and staff must enter their absences in Frontline.

To see the rules for isolation and quarantine, click here. Additional resources are linked below.

• Summary of District 97's COVID-19 Mitigations
• 2022-23 COVID-19 Health and Safety Plan

Cheryl Sullivan

Beye Principal

csullivan@op97.org

Location: 230 North Cuyler Avenue, Oak Park, IL, USA
Phone: 708- 524-3070
Twitter: @MrsSullivand97